The present invention relates generally to an object loading and unloading device for a truck, and more particularly to a forklift-type loading and unloading device which is winch operated. In the recent past and even somewhat today, the common manner of handling hay is to bale it into small bales which are light enough to be manually loaded or unloaded. However, one of the most increasingly popular methods of handling hay is to use a baler which produces large round bales of hay weighing approximately 1,000 to 3,000 pounds, for example. Since these bales obviously are too heavy to be handled by hand, there is developed a real need for equipment to transport such large bales.
Forklift devices have been devised for attachment to the hydraulic hitches of agricultural tractors, and these devices have proven to be quite satisfactory for transporting bales for short distances. When it is desired to transport such bales over longer distances, tractors are not very practical because they do not travel at normal highway speeds. Consequently, these large bales must be lifted by a forklift device attached to a tractor or other machine, onto a truck and transported to the final destination where it must then be unloaded, usually by utilizing similar forklift equipment.
Because of the above mentioned circumstances, it would be desirable to have equipment on the truck itself which is capable of loading and unloading such large objects as the aforementioned large bales of hay. This is true whether long or short distance transportation is contemplated.